


Bad Blood: Extended

by Echoxknox



Category: Bad Blood - Taylor Swift (Music Video)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4291662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echoxknox/pseuds/Echoxknox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on BAD blood music video. Catastrophe and Arsyn were the best agents of the Fates to date. They trusted each other with their lives but not everything is as it seems. Arsyn's betrayal destroyed that partnership and left Cat broken in more ways than one. Now she's back in action and looking to get even. (Better than summary sounds)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Looking up at their destination Catastrophe hummed. 

They were parked outside yet another random office building. They had been making a lot of office visits these last few months but all of them had led to this last one. Some big shot mob boss though he could just auction off most of his connections and money without anyone causing trouble. The auction had been held, the price was paid but now the drop off was taking place and it was up to them to keep that case out of certain people’s hands.  
When you wanted something done you would send your people to go get it but if you wanted something done right you would send your best and they were it. 

“You ready?”

“When am I not?”

Nodding they made their way in. It was an easy mission alone it would have taken a bit more planning and skill but together it was a piece of cake.

Catastrophe and Arsyn were there code names but they were partners and the best at what they did. They had been partners since the beginning mostly because they didn’t get in the others way but after a few months they really hit it off two years down the line they knew each other’s real addresses and names. They could count on each other no matter what the problem, no matter what the mission they could handle it not all partners were so lucky. Catastrophe was a one of the best out there for these kinds of retrieval missions, Arsyn was more for the undercover jobs but that wouldn’t stop her from teaming up for this one. 

The brief case had information on one of the biggest payloads of the century and information on numerous arms deals and they couldn’t let anyone else get their hands on it the Ladies needed this for the whole gang. If the target knew they were coming or not they would handle it or lose it before the drop off either way this one would be taken care of by the end of the night.

“Want chines after?” Catastrophe double tapped her ear piece. 

“Sure, why not”

The elevator “dinged” opening at the fifth floor. It was a seemingly mundane office building but they knew better. The board room not fifteen feet away was currently being used as the drop off point for a brief case. It was their job to get it and if the guys put up a fight they were to handle it as they would any other distraction with a good ass kicking. 

“You’re paying this time” Arsyn adjusted her top couldn’t have it restricting her movements.

“What why?” 

“Your cat tore up my sofa when I was babysitting” Arysn was not amused by the feline’s need to rip up her furniture.

“Ok fair enough, I’ll even go couch shopping with you after words”

“Thanks”

Arsyn smiled as Catastrophe opened the door.

“After you “

The fools didn’t know what hit’ em. 

Quick to disarm the closest guards Arsyn flipped the man over the table distracting them long enough for Catastrophe to slide in punching the next man to try drawing his gun. From there it erupted into chaos. The grunts were trying to protect the man with the case. There were at least twenty all together in that tiny board room and three of them were already out of commission. 

Ramming her knee into the gut of another goon Cat jumped back dodging a punch. Grabbing his wrist she swung him around using his weight to launch herself over the table while he found himself getting a swift kick on the jaw from Arsyn. Soaring through the air Cat super woman kicked the biggest of the guards in the temple knocking him out like a light. The other two grabbed the case bearer and ran for the door. 

Sharing a look with Arsyn she nodded and followed them jumping over desks and office chairs to cut off their escape.  
They weren’t leaving the building with that case and they would make sure of it.

Seeing her the two guards lunged at her attempting to get past her but she wasn’t having it. Kicking one in the knee she spun elbowing the other in the face. Ignoring his cries of pain she grabbed him by the tie and threw him onto one of the many desks in the room he flew over the edge and hit his head on the floor incapacitating him. The other one grabbed her arm rolling her eyes she punched him an kicked her legs up getting him in a leg lock she flipped him over slamming him face first into the floor. Sighing she reapplied her lipstick.

Another guard was thrown down and Arsyn had his arm in an arm bar smirking she gave it a sharp twist popping it out of the socket. Shaking her head Arsyn pulled the guard to his feet, Catastrophe struck him in the neck silencing him only for another grunt to come running at them from the side. Ducking she gave him a harsh uppercut before sweeping his legs using the momentum she fell with him rolling out of it with a cart wheel. Landing effortlessly in an office chair she pushed off spotting yet another escapee she stood paying no mind to the guard who fell over the chair falling face first into a desk.

Catching up to the escapee she grabbed him by the back of his jacket spinning him around and giving him a taste of her right hook. He tried to block her next one but was caught off guard by her strength. As the guard was staggering backwards Cat saw the brief case come flying her way. Snatching it out of midair she used it to club her attacker sending him sprawling.

Smiling she turned around they had the case, the drop would never happen, and they were home free with nothing but scuffed heels and a chipped nail.

Mission accomplished.

Running a hand through her bangs she smirked it was an easy job. Looking over her shoulder she found Arsyn already making her way over.

“Easy enough right?”

Arsyn shrugged taking out her compact she checked her make up before blowing dust in her face shielding her eyes Catastrophe felt the case being ripped from her hand. Looking up she was about to question her partner when one of her sharp heels slammed her in the chest sending her flying through the window.

In that moment all her training was gone.

She couldn’t grab onto anything, not the wall, a ledge nothing. All she could do was reach out to her partner, her team mate, her best friend, Her Judas, and stare as the girl smirked watching her fall from the fifth story window. Seconds turned into hours as she fell for a small eternity her eyes never leaving Arsyn until she was too far away and her back hit something hard. Her head bounced but her body was trapped in a coffin of steel and glass, breaking her bones and tearing her skin. 

Gasping through broken ribs she stared up at the night sky feeling something warm seep through her side soaking her skirt in her own blood. The pain from the fall was too much even with her training it wasn’t enough, she couldn’t stay awake. Betrayal burned through her chest as her mind screamed why? Why did this happen? Why would Arsyn, her best friend, betray here? Closing her eyes she silently cursed Arsyn because if she lived she would spend the rest of her life hunter her for this betrayal.

Arsyn looked down on the limp form of her former partner. 

Things had been too easy. Yes it had taken a great deal of patients but it had all paid off, quite literally. She didn’t want to take orders anymore but she knew the three fates would never let her get any higher even with Catastrophe as her partner. Luckily they didn’t look too deeply into her actions in recent years. She had been slowly building a new team and yes they were good but they didn’t have the money or the weapons to stand up to the fates. 

She smirked looking down at the brief case.

Until now that is.

“Easy enough”

Turning away she took out her ear piece and stepped on it cutting her ties completely.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the aftermath

Taking a drag Lucky looked up at the empty sky blowing out a trail of smoke to fill it. She had finished a job of her own and decided to wait before going back to HQ so why not wait by her car and have a cigar? 

It had been an easy job well as easy as their jobs could get really. A search and destroy kind of mission. This guy had been trying to pick off a few of the girls thinking he could get away with getting Domino in the shoulder but one visit from Lucky and he wasn’t a problem anymore.

Working for the Fates was not an easy task but nothing in life ever was but life with the fates had treated Lucky well enough. Working for the Fates was like working for the mafia but with health care, better weapons, and endless possibilities. Lucky wasn’t your run of the mill no name agents she had a gun, a car, and one of the most important jobs: checking up on the girls. Now some of them were seasoned fighters but even they got caught in a sticky situation every once in a while. There is always someone who gets caught in the blast or on the wrong side of Karma and it was her job to look after them.

So when Catastrophe and Arsyn hadn’t reported in, announcing the start of their mission it set off all kinds of bells and whistles in her head. Some girls got cocky but Cat wasn’t that way neither was Arysn so why hadn’t they checked in?  
Pressing her ear piece she waited for an answer only to hear static. Checking her phone she saw that Arsyn’s ear piece had gone off line only moments ago but Cat’s was still on. Switching channels she waited.

“Cat this is Lucky come in”

Nothing. 

Frowning she took another drag from her cigar. She might live on the edge already but she would smoke if she wanted to and if she was gonna smoke it would be something classy so a cigar was the cancer stick for her.

Shaking her head she tried again.

“Cat come in Arsyn’s not answering”

Silence.

“Cat come on tell me what’s happening?”

Silence.

That was it she didn’t care if they were done or not she was going to their last known coordinates and investigating. 

Sliding into the front seat she checked the back for any mystery passengers before starting up the car. The duo’s location wasn’t too far and if anything it could be a bad connection but that was just wishful thinking. Clenching her she stepped on the gas speeding through the automatic green lights. They didn’t like taking chances in the Fates and she wasn’t about to let the girls take another one if she could help it.

The city was quiet this time of night so she wouldn’t have to worry about any possible witnesses except for at the actual location even then she doubted anyone was up this late. Pulling up to the office building she frowned. The place seemed normal enough except for the giant hold in the fifth story window. 

Ignoring the cameras she pressed the cloaking device on her wrist blurring her and her car on all the cameras. There were a half a dozen cars but all of them were empty probably the targets vehicles. There was one car that seemed out of place it was closer to the building than the others and the roof didn’t look right. Pulling up alongside it she stepped out and grabbed her gun ready to handle any possible threats that came her way.

Taking a casual glance around, she took a long drag from her cigar and blew it out through her nose before walking towards the car. It was probably one of the guards or something. As she got closer she saw a hand hanging over the side it was pale, the knuckles were calloused from years of fighting and a familiar 13 was tattooed across the back of it.

She knew only one person who had a tattoo like that.

“Shit!“

Dropping her cigar she ran to the car and climbed on the glass covered hood ignoring the sharp fragments that dug into her skin. There on top of a mess of glass and steel was Catastrophe. Her black skirt was torn and her skin tone halter was now a rich burgundy.   
Her eyes were closed and her blonde hair was stained red with her own blood.

The job must have gone bad because that’s the only way any of it made sense. Cat and Arsyn were seasoned agents they knew how to handle a job and got them done in record time this, this was something else.

Pulling out her phone she hit speed dial getting an answer before the first ring.

“Lucky what is it?”

“We got a code 9 Athena has fallen and Strife is nowhere to be found, her earpiece is dead”

“Sending a team and a clean-up crew to your location now”

“See you back at HQ”

Hanging up she rubbed her forehead this was a mess. The job itself was now irrelevant they needed to figure out what happened and who was responsible. Whoever did this to Catastrophe better run and hide because when she got out of this, and she will make no mistake about that, she will hunt them down.

Shrugging off her jacket she laid it over Cat hoping to keep her warm until the Medics got there. Looking up at the sky Lucky sighed it was going to be a long night.

……………….  
....................  
...................

Welvin was a busy man.

He was the head medic of the Fates and he had hundreds of women coming through his office with various ailments from stab wounds to shrapnel and tonight would be no different or so he thought. Things had been slow as of late but he had made sure to keep the trinity busy those girls couldn’t be left unsupervised especially in this kind of facility there was no end to the trouble they could get into. 

The Trinity was a set of highly intelligent triplets that when together could create almost anything you could imagine with the right incentive. They had the tools and the funding as long as they didn’t go too far and remembered who gave the orders. The Fates let them do as they pleased and the girls didn’t waste the opportunity they’d been given.

Tonight would be a test of the trinity’s skill as well as his own because the night Catastrophe was betrayed was also the one that broke her physically at least. Getting a message from the Head mistress that one of the girls was in need of immediate medical attention he pulled out all the stops and sent the organizations ambulance. It took him seconds to set up his lab but the moment they carried her in, the Trinity took over changing the agent into a fresh hospital gown and set her down on the scanner.

Getting the go ahead he turned on the scanner and started making notes of all injuries internal and not. Broken arms, legs, ribs, punctured lung, cracked skull. This girl was lucky to be alive. Checking the chart he had to do a double take when he saw the name: Catastrophe. He hadn’t seen her in at least a six months. The last time she’d entered his medic bay was when she’d fractured her wrist on a job in Mumbai even then Arsyn had been with her showing off her broken fingers.

Bother girls were seasoned agents but that didn’t mean they didn’t get hurt they were only human and at this moment it really showed. 

Copying the scans he sent it to the trinity knowing their helmets would fill them in.

“We’ll administer anesthesia and prep her for surgery”

“Thanks girls it’s gonna be a long one”

“No problem Welvin” 

The trinity started setting up his equipment while he washed his hands and pulled on his scrubs he needed to work quickly. The sooner he got Catastrophe fixed up the sooner she could get back in the field and kick whoever’s sorry ass did this.

Turning around he pulled on his mask and stepped onto the plat form.

“Alright ladies let’s get to work”

.................................  
.................................  
.................................

Watching through the two way glass the three leaders of the Fates did their best to figure out what happened. Luna and Justice were each looking over the footage from the job as well as all known and unknown accomplices from the guys they were getting the case from. The Headmistress on the other hand was watching Welvin and the trinity as they worked on Catastrophe.

She had seen a lot of things in her time as an agent and eventually as the leader of the Fates but things weren’t adding up here unless her hunch was true and she prayed it wasn’t. Catastrophe was a level 9 agent she would take over as a fate one day if she kept this up. She was smart, tough, and knew how to handle the pressure the job demanded. Yes, they had hundreds of girls but all of them had a weakness and Cat had her own. They were hidden away or the girl thought they were. She was too comfortable now and it   
seemed that based on what they had found her hunch was right: Arsyn had turned on her partner.

There were few rules about joining the fates:

They didn’t kill women and children

The bad guys/ targets were genderless because anybody was capable of harm

They didn’t tell anyone about the Fates.

They looked out for their team mates.

They always kept a spare gun.

And never did things for their own gain.

It seemed impossible but the women that made up the Fates were strong, caring, and dangerous women who wanted to make a change in the world. Yes their way included guns but they took out threats before the world took notice and that had worked since the beginning. Sadly there was always a few that let their pettiness and jealousy get the better of them. Some tried to kill their own some even succeeded but once you killed one of the Fates the whole organization would be after you and there was no escape from that.

“Arsyn took the case and left heading east on a motor cycle she planted there before the mission we’ll run the plates but I doubt we’ll get anything” Justice sighed feeling a flash of rage before pushing it down trying to calm herself.

“All the grunts they fought have been taken care of and the place is clean a perfect mission except for Arsyn’s betrayal and Catastrophe’s fall, judging by Welvin’s X-rays and the Trinity’s diagnoses she’ll be out of commission for a while” Luna knew the agent would hate every second of her recuperation but her body would need to heal before sending her after Arsyn.

“Till she recovers we set a small investigation on Arsyn and try to locate her if we can’t do that then we can at least hunt down some of her associates because with that case she has a lot of new friends” Justice would see to it that all Arsyn’s ties to the fates were cut off till they found her.

Headmistress nodded 

“When she wakes up make sure that some of the others are with her it’ll take a lot of convincing to keep her here even with her injuries”

“I’ll have the trinity fit her with cybernetic skeleton but limit the power and distance once she’s healed it will help with transition and we can keep an eye on her” Luna offered knowing full well Catastrophe wouldn’t stop till she had her hands on Arsyn.

“Do it “Headmistress turned her attention back to Catastrophe this wouldn’t end well but if they could contain the blast as much as possible then it would be doing everyone a favor.


	3. chapter 3

Slay-z was walking her dog when she got the call. It was a surprise considering it was her day off. All of them had a mandatory day off after their mission depending on the length or injuries, they got more time but she was just enjoying her walk. She and Bonez were going to play in the park, maybe have a little lunch, then go see his girlfriend daisy they were adorable together but it seemed the Fates were calling her in.

Tugging lightly on the bulldog’s leash she dug out her phone, without even looking at the screen she hit answer.

“Hello?”

“Athena has fallen we need you at HQ”

Switching to Slay-z mode she turned around leading Bonez back to the car.

“On it”

Hanging up she whistled alerting Bonez of the situation his software kicked in and he started trotting, keeping pace with her.

Opening the door to her black Challenger she waited for Bonez to get in first before sliding into the drivers set and closing the door. Reeving the engine she pulled out heading straight for HQ. It was on the edge of the city like most secret bases but it had a few surprises thanks to the Trinity. Driving by the empty warehouses she sped up heading straight for the lone arch way by the docks. It looked like a death trap but one little button made it the best magic trick she had ever seen.

Pressing the skull and crossbones keychain on her key ring she sped through the arch and her car was spun around landing on a plat form in HQ’s parking lot. It was a nifty little trick that included cloaking devices, short distance teleportation and a lot of work but it kept the entire organization safe and it was pretty flipping cool once you got used to it. 

Shutting off the engine she opened the door for Bonez letting him out first he liked to check the area first before letting her out. He was a real sweet heart but there were no worries here at HQ it had tighter security than anywhere else on the planet so they were safe.

“Bonez come on we have some ladies to see”

The bulldog barked trotting after her.

HQ was always busy with girls being trained, weapons being made, new missions to complete. They were a lot like a Bee hive but instead of one queen they had three and those three queens did their best to lead them. They didn’t have to join the Fates, most of them were offered a place after being scouted as a mercenary or high level military position sometimes even as cadets if they showed great promise they were taken in. 

Slay-z had been in the Marines using both her physical training as well as the college opportunity to expand her knowledge of technology and mechanics but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to do more, have more of an effect on and off the field but there was only so much she could do until she was approached by Justice, one of three Fates. It had been strange and a little far-fetched until she saw what they did and got a true understanding of what their organization offered she took the job and never looked back.

“Hey Slay-z!”

Looking over her shoulder she saw Dilemma heading her way. Dilemma was a team mate of hers in the last mission for Monaco, there had been a few rough spots but they’d handled it and they were in the clear but something was up.

“Hey D, what’s up?” 

“I got called in by Luna she wanted me to get you and Destructa for some kind of briefing”

“Another mission? But we just finished one”

“I know it’s my day off too but if Athena’s fallen then somebody needs us” Dilemma shrugged there was nothing they could do, orders were orders and if one of the girls needed them then they would be on it.

“Let’s get Destructa she should be at the shooting range”

“That girl and her weapons” Slay-z shook her head.

Dilemma and she were more of tactical, long distance fighters but Destructa X, as her name implied, liked the more interesting approach mainly heavy weapons. The British woman was small but she could carry a loaded bazooka without breaking a sweat.   
The shooting range had a few girls at the line most of the girls were seasoned agents but there were a few rookies here and there. The sound of handguns, machineguns, shotguns filled the air with the background clinking as shells hit the ground. This was the shooting range years ago it had been distracting to have so many weapons going off at a time but you got used to it and helped in the field with all the chaos that usually ensued.

Watching the girl’s litter the targets with bullets Slay-z wondered where Destructa was. She practically lived on the shooting range so where was she?

“You’re doing great girls but there are still bullet holes in the back walls so let me show you how to really hit your target” a familiar voice filled the air.

Sharing a look Dilemma and Slay-z followed the voice till they found Destructa sticking true to her nature and hefting a missile launcher up to the line. Smirking she looked through the scope adjusting her hold her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth before she pulled the trigger with a loud BOOM!!

The missile whistled through the air leaving a trail of smoke before hitting the center target exploding in a burst of fire and shrapnel. The others covered their eyes trying to see past the smoke and debris. Lowering the launcher Destructa stood there smiling proudly as the dust cleared revealing that she had indeed obliterated the center target but also left a giant crater in the range floor.

“Nice shooting X” Slay-z wasn’t all that surprised as mentioned the brit had a love of destructive toys.

“Oh hello Slay-z I was just giving Sandra here a little warm up” X patted the launcher with a fondness only she seemed to understand but they all had something. Slay-z had Bonez and Dilemma had her sniper rifle, again every one of them had a favorite, and Destructa had her weapons.

“We can see that but did you get the memo?” Dilemma asked folding her arms across her chest.

“No why should I?” Destructa tried to think back to any trouble she or Crimson had caused lately but there was nothing that came to mind.

“Well we need you for another briefing”

“Oh another mission already? Sounds like fun” walking back to the armory she set “Sandra” back on her shelf with one last pat before following them out.

The Fates HQ consisted of several floors, tunnels, and overall high tech security. Only the members of the organization itself knew how to find anything and that was because their first day of training was mapping out the facility and memorizing it till you could do it backwards and blind folded. So finding their way to the Fates briefing room wasn’t hard it was just chaotic because you had to go through the training area with all the rookies. 

It was always a bit of a show when they walked through the rookies training ground. To see a seasoned agent walk through there like they owned it, exuding confidence, grace, and a ferocity you only dreamed of. So when the three top girls of their field waltzed through, they paid no mind to the wide eyed stares, gaping rookies, or smirks of their fellow agents. 

Walking up to the briefing room they all took their seats around the horse shoe shaped table. The Fates weren’t there yet but the Trinity was and they nodded to the agents as they took their seats.

“Hello girls” Destructa smiled at the Trinity she saw them a lot in the beginning but she was a lot better and dodging enemy fire now.

“Nice to see you again ladies” the Trinity smiled lightly but went back to their laptops a second later busy typing away.

“So what’s the mission?”

“There isn’t one” said Justice The Fates swept into the room sitting near the arch of the table but Headmistress remained standing she was too tense to sit down. 

“What?” Slay-z was confused now.

“But you said Athena has fallen, one of the girls is in danger”

“She was but now… we are the ones in danger” Headmistress looked away a distant look in her eye.

“What’d you mean we’re in danger now?” Dilemma didn’t like where this was going.

“A few hours ago two of our agents were sent to retrieve a very important brief case but they never checked in or out, if Lucky hadn’t gone to check on them then Athena would be dead or worse” Luna explained sticking to the universal codes to keep them calm.   
All three were one edge. There had been a few cases of fallen Athena’s because that’s just the code they used for a sister in danger but this also meant that one of their friends was in serious danger.

“Who was on the mission?” Dilemma couldn’t hold back anymore she needed to know.

Luna shared a look with Headmistress getting a slight nod she prepared herself for the impending out busts.

“Catastrophe and Arsyn”

The room was dead silent.

Slay-z sat there in shock. Catastrophe and Arsyn were the best. They were the best team they had in the entire organization. How could one of them have gotten hurt so badly?

“Hold on which one’s Athena?” Dilemma was just as shocked as Slay-z but something wasn’t right here the Fates were holding back. 

The leaders silently communicated through a single look before Headmistress nodded. Justice took it from there sitting up straighter with her head held high.

“Catastrophe was pushed out of a fifth story window landing on a car below”

Catastrophe was down.

Cat was down.

The tense silence was broken by Destructa kicking back her chair.

“WHO DID IT?!” 

“Destructa..”

“NO WHOES HEAD DO I BLOW OFF?? JUST GIVE ME A NAME!!!” The brit was furious Catastrophe was her friend they had gone on hundreds of missions together, saving each other’s lives time and time again so there was nothing stopping her from taking up the torch and finishing what Cat couldn’t.

“Destructa X sit down” Headmistress didn’t raise her voice, she never did with them and she wasn’t about to start now.

Squeezing her eyes shut Destructa counted to ten then twenty then thirty then back down a few times before calmly picking up her chair and sitting back down. The others waited patiently though both Dilemma and Slay-z wanted to do more than throw a few chairs. Dilemma’s strength could bust through walls with her enhanced strength due to the implants in her left arm. Slay-z would have unleashed all her gadgets and Bonez on the facility but they had more self-restraint than Destructa and would try to remain as   
composed as possible.

“Catastrophe has been taken care of and fitted with am exoskeleton to help with her recovery but we have a limiter on the suite until she’s healed a bit more” Luna explained setting them at ease.

“Wait what about Arsyn?” Dilemma noticed that Cat’s partner hadn’t been mentioned except for at the beginning.

Headmistress stepped forward “Arsyn is the reason this happened”

Slay-z frowned “Explain”

“In securing the case Arsyn turned on Catastrophe and took it before kicking her former partner out of a five story window” Justice kept a blank face but they could see the fire in her eyes. No one hated betrayals more than Justice, call her old fashioned but she, like her fellow leaders, felt that trust, teamwork, and friendship were crucial in this kind of business. It might seem strange but those were the things that helped build up the partnership between the Fates and lead to them creating their organization saving hundreds of lives every day. And now Arsyn had not only betrayed her partner of four years but she also took the case and that was something the whole organization was meant to benefit from.

Arsyn’s selfishness and lack of trust would be the end of her and once Catastrophe was back on her feet they would see to it that thought held true, which brought them back to their original objective.

“Now that you know what happened we need your help because the moment Catastrophe wakes up we all know she’ll fight like hell to get out and go after Arsyn” Luna explained nodding to the Trinity.

The Trio stopped typing for a moment and the screen came on revealing a sleeping Catastrophe. The blonde was hooked up to several machines and bandages covered most of her body not to mention the steel braces that surrounded her body almost like a cage. The only sounds they could distinguish were that of her oxygen mask helping her breath and her heart monitor that beat strong and steady. It would take a lot more than a shove out a five story window to finish off Cat, she was too stubborn to let anything stop her from reaching her goal.

“With the injuries she sustained it was a miracle that Catastrophe survived the night but Lucky found her just in time” The Trinity said in tandem.

“We fixed what we could and have refrained from using implants as we did with you Dilemma because it was in her wishes that she would never receive such things unless they were for a missing limb even then she wished for everything to be salvaged as best it could”

The video feed minimized and the results of her full body scan came up making her team mates wince. All the injured parts of her body were highlighted in red, glowing off and on the ones that didn’t stop glowing were the worst so it looked like her lungs and back took the most damage.

“As requested we prepared an exo-suite for when her bones have healed but we set the suite to the lowest setting, limiting her movements as well as the power of the suite itself until her therapy is done and her body has fully healed”

“Sorry girls but we all know Cat’s gonna hunt down Arsyn the second she opens her eyes” Destructa shook her head her eyes never leaving the minimized live feed.

“That’s why we asked you to come here” Headmistress leaned on the table meeting each of their gazes.

“We all know how determined she is but if she tries anything before her bodies back in tip-top shape Catastrophe will only get herself killed so we need you three to keep an eye on her, make sure she does her therapy at a slow pace and doesn’t get herself hurt trying to rush the process”

Slay-z nodded there was nothing more to be said. “I’m in” 

“Me too” Dilemma agreed it would take more than just the three of them to keep Cat down but they would do their best.

“So when do we start?” Destructa wanted to go see Cat already, even if she was asleep she had to check on her.

“Now if you don’t have any plans”

“Please we would drop them all even if she wasn’t in the medic unit” Dilemma folded her arms across her chest making plans to get a few of the others to visit.

“Just be careful alright?” Luna warned “she’s had a hard betrayal and we all know Arsyn’s was her best friend so give her time and reassurance” 

“Got it” Destructa stood heading straight for the door she was going to see Cat before the day was through and that was that.

………  
………  
….…..

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep

Catastrophe awoke to that annoying beeping two hours ago and it was still going. She wanted to smash the machine but she couldn’t move her body was still pumped full of heavy muscle relaxers which would explain why she couldn’t open her eyes. She had tried to open them but it was impossible and she couldn’t move the worst part was she couldn’t tell if it was because of the drugs or if her body had been broken so much that she was…

Mentally shaking her head she pushed those thoughts away it would only make her heart race and she didn’t want anyone to know she was awake yet. 

Using her senses she tried to get more of an idea about her surroundings. It was obvious she was in a hospital like setting but she could be in a normal hospital or she could be back at HQ but she doubted anyone was within range of her last mission and she hadn’t hit her panic button.

I doubt Arsyn would have called it in the thought bitterly rang through her mind searing her consciousness with a fiery hatred.

If only she could move then she would destroy the room and kill everyone in the building that might quench her thirst for revenge but it wouldn’t be enough because these people meant nothing to Arsyn.  
Something caught her attention. 

Footsteps. Heavy but slow. They were getting closer and closer. She would have company it seemed. 

The door opened followed by a muttered curse. An accent, whoever decided to waltz right in had an accent. They closed the door and walked to the bed there was a creak and the swoosh of fabric, they probably took a seat in the chair beside the bed. Hospitals always had that.

“Cat you have to wake up”

She knew that voice. Destructa. She must be at HQ because Destructa wasn’t allowed in most public places her and Crimson had destroyed too many to leave HQ without an escort of some kind.

“Everyone’s worried, not that they wouldn’t be, but it’s been weeks you should have woken up by now” Destructa sighed and the chair creaked again she felt a hand on her arm but the bandages and drugs dulled her senses.

“The girls have been worried sick about you” Destructa started again. “Knock out broke her hand on some chicks face in a bar when she found out, the girl tore up that bar so bad we had to cover it as some demolition mix up and Chucker nearly blew up the building she’s been on lock down with Crimson and me but they know they can keep me at the range so they don’t worry too much about me”

“But Crimson already broke out twice before they put her on full lock down with the threat of cutting her vising hours here in the medic bay, a smart but low blow if you ask me either way it got her to settle down for a few days she should be out once they clean up the damage” 

They knew all of them knew of Arsyn’s betrayal! Cat screamed in her head. She didn’t want them to know, she didn’t want their sympathy or their pity! She didn’t want any of them near her but she couldn’t snarl at them, she couldn’t even move because of the damn drugs! 

“I know you’ll probably be pissed when you wake up but you’re in bad shape Cat, Welvin and the girls spent a long time just getting you stable before they could start patching you up so your gonna have to take it easy”

Catastrophe mental roared wishing nothing more to tear the entire building apart. She was being slowed down by her own body! Nothing wanted her to get her revenge not even her own body! 

“I uh.. I wanted to let you know that I went to your apartment and I got your cat” Destructa nervously tapped the arm of the chair not knowing what else to say.

“She’s in your spare room here and she’s been terrorizing Bonez every chance she gets”

This quelled her rage enough for her to enjoy the humor in it because Bonez was a state of the art artificial intelligence in the form of a dog and he was one of Slay-z best weapons and friends, like any other dog but he was terrified of her cat. The most terrifying cat in existence surely wasn’t her cat Dibbles, yes she could be a little mischievous at times even a little mean to people she didn’t like but she was a tiny, fuzzy, cuddle fest waiting to happen. 

“The poor boy’s a whimpering mess every time Slay-z goes to play with her but she’s fine and I make sure to give her some extra lovin’ for you”

Destructa sighed and the chair squeaked as she leaned back.

“Cat you seriously need to wake up, we have a lot to do and we know you’ll probably punch out the first one who brings it up but you’re the one who knows the bitch best and we can’t get a lock on her”

Arsyn….she roared as betrayal burned in her chest like molten lava, she still couldn’t get over how her partner and former best friend had left her for dead. She would get her back for it, she would sink her claws into her and have at it. 

“With all this knew stuff at her finger tips she’s popping up right and left using three woman teams to wreak our solo missions and the girls are doubling up for safety but this is just the beginning, she’s using everything from here and connections we didn’t even know she had to bust our asses we can’t even see her coming!” 

Suddenly the harsh clang! Of metal meeting the wall rang in her ears. Destructa must have thrown the visitors chair she was surprised the brit had lasted this long.

“Damn it…” Destructa muttered a string of curses before picking up the chair it was a little dented but it would have to do for now. Setting it back down, she counted slowly up to fifty then back down three times before sitting back ignoring the way the back of the   
chair dug into her back because of the new adjustment.

“Sorry Cat we both know I got a temper on me but I didn’t want to let it slip when I’m with you, you’ve dealt with enough shit as it is but I know whatever I’m feelin’ is nothing compared to you so wake up already and show the bitch you won’t let her keep you down”

Destructa stared at the comatose agent waiting for something, anything to happen. All she needed was a sign, a groan, a hiss, even flipping the bird and she would tell the others the good news.   
Nothing.

She sighed falling back in her chair cursing as she rammed her back into the bent chair, it would be sore later. Then something moved. She could hear it, the rustlings of fabric. Sitting up she looked at her friend once more something was moving on her right side, her right cast had been removed a while ago but they were advised to stay away from it while it was still fragile.

Standing up she leaned over hoping for a sign when the blanket flew up and a fist connected with her nose.  
“Gah!” surprised she stumbled backwards reminded of just how mean Catastrophe’s right hook was.

Before she could stumble over the visitors chair the hand grabbed her by the throat and dragged her forward. Harsh blue met shocked brown.

“Get..me out…NOW” Catastrophe was done playing patient she wanted out and she wanted it now.

Pushing Destructa away she watched the brit laugh wiping the blood from her nose she ran to the door and hit the com.

“Guess who just punched me in the face!”

Cat shook her head popping her sore neck sighing when it loosened with an, oh so satisfying Crack! Looking down at the rest of her body she found steel braces around both her legs and her left arm had a small sling keeping it close to her chest. Her chest ached as well as her back but she wasn’t taking this laying down any more she had things to do and answers to get.

“Good to have you back Cat” Destructa smirked from her place by the door the Trinity was on their way with Cat’s new exo-suite as they spoke.

“Not everyone’s gonna be so happy to see me X” Cat removed her IV and started pulling out wires she didn’t care how much it hurt she was getting out and she was getting out now.

“Hey you need some of those”

“I’m leaving X and I can’t have these getting caught in the door”

“Yeah but you got an exo-suite on the way “

Cat paused her mind raced with this new information. If they had an exo-suite for her than she would heal twice as fast but they would be monitoring her every move and she had seen some of the more intense ones, they were limited to a certain sector or were only for therapeutic use. The Fates had pulled out all the stops in fixing her up and now they would keep her on a short leash.

Growling she sat up more and threw off the blankets she wouldn’t get far no matter what she did but she wouldn’t be laying helplessly when the others arrived. Destructa made her way back to the chair frowning at the way the back was pushed in from her not so lightly throwing it against the wall.

“Yeah not sitting there again”

“Who else is coming?” Cat wanted numbers now so she could get her mask up to par before they came.

“Just the Trinity, Slay-z and Dilemma”

Cat nodded. Good the fewer people she had to deal with the better.

The door opened and her fellow agents rushed in Bonez close behind. They weren’t winded but they were definitely short of breath they must have been deep in HQ for them to be out of breath. When their eyes finally meet she can tell they wanted to take a step   
back, instinct was probably screaming for them to but they didn’t either out of respect or for their own safety. She knew her eyes were burning into them a fierce contradiction of burning ice shards. She was hurt and angry, a bad combination for one of the most   
dangerous women in the world but Destructa didn’t seem to care as she leaned against the bed.

It could be that Destructa didn’t really have that instinct any more they all knew one too many ceiling chunks to the head could make a person a little screwy but she appreciated it through her rage. Destructa was odd and a little crazy like Crimson but then again Crimson was her own kind of crazy. Still Destructa respected her and she knew that the brit would honor a life debt and that’s what mattered. She didn’t trust anyone right now, she didn’t want to be near anyone, but a life debt was enough and she knew Destructa would honor it. 

“Hey Cat” Dilemma watched her hoping to find something other than rage in her eyes but she found nothing.

“Dilemma” The sniper frowned she didn’t like this Cat but after seeing her broken she didn’t think she would be so open to comfort she looked more like an angry lioness.

“Did you really punch X in the face?” Slay-z could feel the tension like humid air before the storm and she wanted to brace herself for the storm before it happened.

“It was the nose and yes I did” her voice was hard cutting through any humor that could have been found.

“What a way to wake up” Slay-z shook her head and leaned against the back wall.

Bonez whined from her feet he didn’t like that Cat hadn’t called him over for a scratch his programing advised that he investigate. Padding over to the bed he sniffed her leg brace analyzing the material and overall function before lightly bumping it with his nose hoping to brighten her mood.

Glancing down at the bulldog she wanted to shoo him away but his sad eyes begged her for a scratch. The AI wouldn’t pick up her dark aura his programing was set to hound mode making him a simple dog but she wouldn’t hold it against him she was usually happy to see him in either mode. 

Sighing she looked down at Bonez and, using her good arm, gave him a light scratch.

This was a good sign to the others. She might be colder on the outside but below that icy exterior and rage was the same Catastrophe they just had to give her time. 

The doors opened and the Trinity came in with a large case in each hand. They weren’t too surprised that Catastrophe had removed most of the wires and tubing most of them did but the fact that she’d stayed surprised them even more. They didn’t think Destructa would have stopped her but she must have realized the extent of her injuries and decided to wait for the verdict.

“So I got an exo-suite?”

Or Destructa had slipped about the suite.

“Yes your body has healed enough for you to begin physical therapy but these will accelerate that” They explained as they set the cases down. The girls already know what the suites did but it was protocol and they always felt a hint of pride every time they pulled one out of the lab.

“And what exactly will I be allowed to do in said suite?” cat wasn’t going to beat around the bush she wanted to know the full extent of her leash.

“You will be able to move and as your progress goes you will be able to move faster but you will be restricted to your courters, the medic, and the training area until further notice” 

“You mean until they think I won’t run?”

The Trinity shrugged they knew she was pissed and although not allowed in the field they felt she had every right to go out into the world and rip Arsyn a new one but she couldn’t do that if she was stumbling over herself.

“Either way this will get your body back up to strength till Arsyn is found”

“Found?” why hadn’t they found her? She had been out for a while it should have been more than enough time.

“yes she’s used more of her new contacts to hide herself and from what little we have found she’s constantly on the move” the Trinity we’re upset that they hadn’t been able to find Arsyn because come on they were the Trinity, this should be easy but it wasn’t   
nothing with Arsyn ever was that’s why they needed Catastrophe.

Cat clenched her jaw breathing through her nose to keep her head. 

“Let’s get this over with we have things to do”


	4. chapter 4

Hefting up the twenty pound weights she held her position on the trinity’s call. They didn’t have names that she knew of like everyone else they went by code names or in their case their helmet numbers: 88, 89, and 90. They checked the suite and her muscles reaction to the added weight, sharing their thoughts through their helmets each one nodded or typed away on their tablets.

She was making great progress with her suite increasing her strength and all but therapy was a bitch but then so was karma the only difference was that Karma would be on her side. Her body ached with every step, her muscles stretched and contracted unused to the sudden activity after weeks of being comatose. Usually she did a daily regime that kept her in the best shape when not on missions but to stop so suddenly then start up again wasn’t good for her body. 

The best thing out of all of this was the exo-suite. The thing was light weight but heavy to her weakened muscles. She was to wear it at all times of the day even when she slept to speed up her recovery. It was annoying and did nothing to help her mood but orders were orders. 

The other annoying thing was the stares.

She expected this and didn’t shy away from them because she was used to it but now they held a new meaning. No longer were they stares of awe and admiration they burned her with their fear and pity, fueling her controlled rage. She knew this would happen, Arsyn knew that should she survive the reputation they had spent their entire careers building would be tarnished and she would be seen as the weaker of the two. She was Catastrophe, the one who was foolish enough to trust her partner while she plotted behind her back, she was Catastrophe the best agent out there taken down by a fall from a fricking fifth story window. 

Growling under her breath she let the weights drop, surprised the trinity all three jumped at the ‘clang!’ as the weights hit the floor.

Frowning 88 checked her tablet her eyes widened as she stared at Cat’s levels they surged higher than normal as did her body heat all in less than three seconds it was gone back to normal. Sharing this with the others they all stored that away for later because Catastrophe was a prime agent and they were always trying to find a way to replicate her but she always surprised them with something new.

Going over to the next set she crouched down making sure not to hunch over her back was better but her muscles were still quite stiff. Adjusting her hold she stood lifting the weights for another rep. The Trinity watched her each taking in different information sharing it through their link analyzing it and adding it to the data bank for later assessment.

It was hard to focus but she would get through this just like the day before that and the day before that. They would be done with this stupid therapy and she would be able to move on to the skills assessment part of this little “break”. The Fates had informed her that once her body had healed they wanted her to brush up on her skills and add a few new ones to her endless list of tricks. She didn’t mind it would be good to know something Arsyn didn’t, then she’d have the drop on her.

Arsyn.

She threw the weights down this time not even caring that they broke the weight rack. 

The Trinity jumped back a good 2ft for their own protection. They had been watching Catastrophe for days now and the longer she did the therapy the more out bursts she had though they were more scats then anything. The top agent had been wronged and she was baring her fangs while she licked her wounds the others could try all they wanted to get near her but this lioness wasn’t having it she would snap and snarl at them till she could stand on her own two feet and then she would rampage till she got her retribution.

Sadly this wouldn’t happen till she got through the grueling process of building herself back up and she couldn’t do that without them, The Trinity, the Girls , the Fates, all of them. 

Breathing sharply through her nose Cat closed her eyes clenching her fists feeling her knuckles pop. She was done. No she was beyond done with this she needed to do something and tossing weights around wasn’t cutting it.

“Hey Cat!”

Opening her eyes she found Destructa with a familiar red head, Crimson. The assassin had been on full lockdown for most the time she was out but once Destructa told her Cat was ok she cooled off. Crimson was another friend, if she wanted to think of them like that, who saved her back in the day and she’d more than returned the favor.

“Hey kitty kat nice to see on the outside of the cell this time” Crimson grinned ear to ear mischief shined in those dark eyes.

“Nice to see you too” her voice hadn’t changed since she woke up, cold and emotionless, but neither girl seemed to mind.

“You look good for half dead believe me we’ve both been there” Crimson nudged Destructa making the brit laugh. It was true those two had been brought back from the hands of death so many times it was hard to believe they were still   
breathing.

“Thanks“ 

“Hey ladies you wouldn’t mind if we took this one off your hands right?” Destructa threw an arm around Cat’s shoulders ignoring the glare burning into the side of her head.

“Well her therapy is done but-“

“Why not let her kick back, take the rest of the day off” Crimson was already pulling the blonde toward the exit.

“Our tests aren’t done” The Trinity weren’t happy about losing their patient.

“Yeah but would you want to continue your tests or live to do those tests tomorrow?” Crimson dragged out the “or” because she just loved to see the girls eyes twitch in unison.  
With a collective sigh the Trinity nodded, waving them off to get back to their own work.

“YES!!” the girls high-fived continuing their walk or drag Cat out of the weight room to the elevator.

Rolling her eyes Cat finally spoke her mind.

“Where do you two think you’re taking me?”

“We are getting you out of snoozevill and down to party town duh” Crimson shook her head as if it was obvious.

Not that she didn’t appreciate the rescue but these two tended to cause a lot of property damage when together if they threw in Mother Chucker then they would be the unholy trinity of terror.

“Besides you’re not one for kid gloves Cat and we’re not gonna let the Trinity soften you up” Destruct pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing at the very thought of someone trying to weaken her friend.

“So what are you gonna do?” Cat hid her anxiety with a bored almost expressionless face but the girls smiled and that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“Oh nothing” 

“I’m telling you right now, I want no part in the trouble your about to cause”

“Oh please Cat we know your all “no funny business” right now, we just wanted to get you out of there before you went on a massacre” Destructa looked her up and down almost insulted by her friends lack of trust, though it was understandable.

“We just wanted you to come hang out with us Kitty Kat” Crimson shrugged.

The doors opened and the duo stepped out casually walking through the many training areas. Knowing she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without “supervision” she grudgingly followed, her head held high and her shoulders back. She might be out of commission but she was still one of the best in there and she wasn’t going to let them forget it.

Unbeknownst to her Crimson and Destructa smirked doing a small fist bump before she could notice. They were slowly getting their friend back it took a long while just to get her to let one of them into her courters here now they needed to get   
passed a few more barriers to get her back to normal or at least get the Cat without a stick up her ass.

Yes they were fed up with this cold as ice act, well it wasn’t an act, but they wanted their friend to know they were there for her and part of her therapy was more than just physical it was mental as well. The Fates had charged all of them with helping Catastrophe realize this and she couldn’t do that cooped up in her room.

They had plans of their own for their friend and they started today.

Walking behind the crazies Cat wondered where they were taking her. She wasn’t allowed to do more than light exercises and weight training to keep herself in shape but she would kill for a chance to something of substance.

Crimson smiled at her over her shoulder nodding to one of the hundreds of glass boxes. It was better for some to be in enclosed training rooms so the Fates had sound proof boxes built. They were practical, light weight, and helped train the next gen agents so it was perfect.

Inside the box Crimson had her sights on was Home slice showing off her skill with the katana. Usually the blonde was meditating but it was later in the day and she was playing her favorite game of balance the cup. It was said, by whom she didn’t know, that the greatest of swordsman could balance a cup of water on the tip of their blade but Home slice wasn’t just a swordsman, she was a master. She could do whole katas with that little cup of water somehow staying on the edge of her blade. Crimson liked to think she glued it there but she watched her just as closely as the others and could see it shifting from side to side, falling through the air only to be cause at the last second. 

There was no doubt in Home Slice’s skill but Cat would give anything to be in there going a round or two with her. They had played around, as much as people like them could, making bets on missions sometimes they would go to fairs or competitions on their days off and mess around with people winning a couple of prizes here and there but that was more of Crimson’s style than hers.

“Come on Kitty Kat let’s see if we can make her mess up”

Crimson crept forward while Home Slice had her back to them her blade soaring through the air she had her eyes closed but she wasn’t taking any chances. Raising her hand she was about to knock on it when Home slice held up a finger   
silently ‘tsking’ Crimson.

Rolling her eyes Destructa knocked on the glass.

“Come on fruit ninja you got a visitor”

Even through sound proof glass Home slice seemed to hear her and her response was flipping them off. Laughing Destructa patted Crimson on the back before heading for the door dragging Cat along with her. If they didn’t stop yanking her around she was gonna do more than just punch Destructa in the face again.

Throwing open the door Crimson waltzed in scraping her boots on the floor just to bug Home Slice. The blonde finally opened her eyes looking to the heavens begging them why no one could leave her alone during her daily regime. Sheathing her blade she rolled her shoulders letting her body relax with a deep, calming breath.

“Toasty you need a vacation or something to get that stick out of your ass” Crimson smirked knowing full well she was bugging the heck out of her now.

“Eloquent as always”

Popping her neck Home Slice finally turned around her eyes went straight for Cat. If it had been anyone else they would have started asking “how are you” or “what happened?” but this wasn’t anyone, this was Home Slice and the stoic blonde knew betrayal and revenge all too well.

Home Slice was the daughter of the fabled Black Mamba better known as the Bride, her parents had been at each other’s throats till her mother finally finished it all killing her father with the legendary five point exploding heart technique. The only problem with being an assassin and having a daughter is people usually went after the child as leverage but they were sorely mistake in this tactic because Home Slice was already a master of several fighting styles by the time they were found. 

When the Fates had approached them they had originally hoped to get the Black Mamba but Home Slice had joined instead. Her Mother was an assassin and had been all her life, she wanted to her to enjoy her life as it was, stress free and Home slice wanted to make a difference, not the way her parents had before her but in her own way.

So the fates came for Black Mamba and left with Home Slice.

“What are you two doing dragging Cat around? You know she doesn’t like it”

“Yeah but it’s better than being stuck with the kiddies” Crimson loved coming up with a myriad of nicknames for the rookies.

“True” Home Slice looked her up and down assessing the damage an Exo-suite was for full body damage and unlike the others she wasn’t a gossip hound so she didn’t know the full extent of the damage until now.

“So Cat when are they letting you off the leash?” it wasn’t a jab, Slice wasn’t that way, even if her humor was a little morbid at times.

“It better be soon or we’ll have a problem” Cat eyed her Katana. She wanted to swing that bad boy so bad, she and Slice did a little training on the side because let’s be honest everyone one has a secret desire to wield a samurai sword at least once in their life.

“Why don’t you come see me after they let you off, I wouldn’t mind having a few play matches” 

Cat nodded slowly liking the idea already.

“Enough staring you two let’s do something!” Destructa whined 

Crimson nudged Slice making one of her brows raise in question.

“What about the four of us have a little fun?”

“Well crimson your guys definition of fun…differs from Cats and mine” Home slice smirked despite herself.

“Eh true as that may be you would still have fun” Destructa wouldn’t let it go, if Home slice was willing to join in then there was no way Cat would turn them down.

Eyeing the crazies Catastrophe looks to Home Slice once more wondering if she could persuade the blonde to back out but that spark of mischief in her eyes tells her there’s no chance.

“Alright psycho’s, what’s the plan?”

Crimson and Destructa smirked as the wheels started moving.

“First things first I need the colored flairs from the safety unite then, X you can get the …”  
……  
……  
…….

Headmistress had seen a lot of things in her time both as an agent and apart of the Fates. She had worked with hundreds of teams, saved millions of lives, and dealt with many a villain but it seemed that nothing could have prepared her for the girls.

Before her stood two common visitors, Crimson Curse and Destructa X, honestly she might as well move their courters next door so she they didn’t have to walk so far. What she hadn’t expected was Home Slice and Catastrophe to be with them. Home Slice was very serious about her life with the Fates and her mission as was Catastrophe when it came to missions but every now and then they got a little mischievous on their own. Still to see these four together she wondered if this is what real Headmistresses felt like when addressing their more devious students.

All of them were silently waiting for her to say something and she would let them sweat it out because she had already decided their punishment. The only thing left on her mind was how they had convinced Catastrophe to take part in their “prank” if you will. Crimson, Destructa, and Mother Chucker were the usual suspects in these kinds of things but Chucker was on a mission so it left these two bone heads to explain how the entire rookie floor, agents and all, had been dyed every color in the rainbow by their little mist bombs.

“Any last words?” 

“Only that I don’t regret it” Destructa said with a satisfied, but not smug, look on her face.

“Are you sure you won’t reconsider those words?”

“Never” said Crimson, ready to take the punishment with a smile.

Raising a brow Headmistress nodded turning her attention to the two blondes in this line up. Cat and Slice were at attention their faces were identical in blankness, both were highly trained so it made sense. Sometimes she worried that her girls   
were too serious even in their line of work but that’s why she took in girls like Crimson and Destructa they balanced out the serious ones and got them to join in on their crazy schemes like now.

Deciding they’d waited long enough she held her head high watching them all do the same, sticking their chins out for the incoming punch.

“You will help in the clean-up and with the repair of any damaged equipment in your capture” She eyed Crimson at that note, the red head made a dash so the others could escape causing several angry rookies to crash through the compound doing more damage than anything.

“Am I clear?”

“Yes Headmistress” 

Giving them one last look she nodded towards the door.

“Good, you’re dismissed”

They filed out silently fighting back the smirks and laughter that were dying to come through.

Justice and Luna watched them go with annoyance it had taken a long time just to get everyone out of the rookie floor but the mess was quite extensive and don’t even get them started on the damages. 

“Why let them off so easily?” Justice was blunt now that they were alone.

“Several girls are in the medic with the Trinity because of that little stunt” Luna wasn’t about to let this go not when-

“Did you see the look in Cats eyes?”

Headmistress’s question threw them off.

“What?” asked Luna

“The look in her eyes, did you see it?”

“No I was too busy going over the injury reports from The Trinity” Luna wasn’t going to be side tracked, at this point she would be down there with the trinity and Welvin helping with the Rookies.

Justice frowned wondering what her partner was talking about “what about her eyes?”

Headmistress turned to her fellow Fates a barely noticeable smirk on her lips.

“They had a spark”

The other Fates were silent.

Justice blinked her mind raced at all the possibilities of what that spark might mean. Luna on the other hand prepared a mental exam for Catastrophe in case they needed it but Headmistress put all their worries to rest. 

“She’s going to start coming out of her shell more, her self-imposed exile will be over by the end of the week”

“How can you be so sure? She’s been colder than Frostbyte when she first came here” Luna was still hesitant when it came to Catastrophe and didn’t want to ruin the girl’s chances of a full recovery.

“Because a lot of girls are finishing up their missions and are on their way back for a debriefing”

“And most of them are Cat’s friends” Justice finished seeing her friends plan might work.

“But what about Catastrophe herself? The Trinity have sent me more than just the usual analysis, she’s getting stronger but not by normal means of the exo-suit” Luna explained flicking the scans from her tablet onto the holo-screen.

“Every time she gets angry her strength doubles, triples even”

Headmistress looked over the analysis it was a dangerous thing keeping such an unstable agent around but this was the only place that could hold Catastrophe and not lose lives.

“We’ll keep an eye on her and get more girls on her, honestly today was a break through and I’ll take it for all its got”

“so more baby sitters?” Justice was skeptical she hated being looked after like a child and Catastrophe were similar in that way.

“Its only until she gets out of the suit then she’s in full training mode, she won’t leave this facility until we have a lock on Arsyn and she can pass out judgement, agreed?“ 

“Agreed”


	5. chapter 5

Sweet, sweet freedom. 

Cat didn’t think they’d let her out of the suit so early but after cleaning up most their “prank” she had shown great progress and they’d let her off the leash but she was still to be monitored till further notice. It’s not like she was a risk she wasn’t going to leave she needed to get her body back to its former glory and start planning. The problem is she couldn’t start planning till she had a moment alone and with more agents showing up she would never get the chance.

“You missed a spot” 

“Oh can it Chucker” Destructa smirked playfully flicking some of the paint towards the tiny blonde, which she easily dodged.

“I can’t believe they let you off so easy” Mother Chucker was leaning against the wall watching them clean up the last of the color explosion.

“You’re just moping ‘cause you weren’t there to help pull it off” Called Destructa

“Yeah ‘cause I totally wanted to help with the clean-up” Chucker smirked when Crimson stuck her tongue out.

“The reason I’m hangin’ around is ‘cause I’m wondering how in heck you got the sticks out their-“

“We aren’t that severe Chucker” Home Slice didn’t want to her to finish that sentence while she had a mop in her hands or she might show her what it really means to annoy her.

“Hey I’m just starting conversation that’s all” 

Catastrophe rolled her eyes she didn’t want to spend her first days of freedom cleaning when she should be training. The list of things she needed to do was only getting longer and the Intel she’d picked up from Crimson between water breaks wasn’t promising. 

The Fates were being attacked at random, Arsyn was hitting the major jobs but only every third one, even then it was based on size and importance but it didn’t make sense. Arsyn had her “gang” stop a few arms deals but then they’d take the weapons themselves, They would stop an attack then use the left over resources for whatever they couldn’t buy.

Arsyn might have been a traitorous bitch but she was always a cunning one. She knew she didn’t stand a chance against the Fates head on, it would be suicide, so she stuck to guerilla warfare and attacked in waves. Running through their defenses nipping at their legs, clawing at their back when they tried to put out the fires she was starting. Arsyn was using every trick in the book to throw them off balance she didn’t care what kind of name she made for herself as long as you heard of her and knew that she was open for hire.

SNAP!

The mercenary business was a tough one and with The Fates having been the buffer between them and the rest of the world it would be even harder.

“Cat!”

Blinking she looked up. The others had stopped what they were doing to stare at her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why she knew the mop was now a two in one set before she snapped it. All this thinking wasn’t helping anyone especially her.

Ignoring the stares, she marched past them to the trash can slamming the broken inside making a harsh ‘clanging’ noise. She didn’t stop though she was too wrapped up in her head to stay there, silently reading their thoughts and worries. She was Catastrophe, she didn’t have to put up with their stares even if they were her- her what friends? She thought she had those but Arsyn had ruined that for her, she was always looking over her shoulder wondering which one would turn on her next. 

“Cat!” Of course they would follow her.

“Cat!” 

She could hear their boots and heels clicking as they raced after her. They could brush it off as “supervision” all they wanted or looking out for their friend but honestly she was so stuck in her Arsyn rage it didn’t matter who they were.

“Cat where are you going we still have the rest of the floor to clean up” Destructa wasn’t finishing this on her own, they were lucky most of it hadn’t dried when they started otherwise it would have taken a hell of a lot longer. 

“You were doing just fine with the others I have things to do”

“Oh please they wouldn’t let you on the training deck without one of us or their ok” The brit wasn’t letting this go it wasn’t the stupid mess she was worried about.

“You got yourself into it you can get out” Cat snapped 

“Hey you joined in, you didn’t have to but you did of your own free will” Destructa shouted not caring that they were gathering quite a bit of attention.

“Seriously Cat you need to slow down” Crimson stepped in she wouldn’t let them kill each other, she might be a few screws loose but she knew a threat when she saw one and Catastrophe was a ticking time bomb. 

“Just back off!!” Cat’s voice echoed through the hallway as she glared at them. She wanted to yell at them, scream at them, that she didn’t need the kid gloves, she didn’t need games or pranks, and she didn’t need any of it or them. The only thing stopping her was their years of friendship and her inability to speak. Her rage was all consuming. She knew the second she opened her mouth she would do nothing but scream abuse at them, halfhearted jabs and empty threats and she didn’t want to deal with the consequences of that.

Clenching her jaw she turned away and started walking, she didn’t know where but she would just let her feet carry her as long as it was away from them.

Crimson gabbed Destructa’s arm keeping the brit from charging after her.

“Hold up X, I think Cat needs a moment”

“But she can’t go anywhere without one of us” 

“I’ll go” Chucker gladly volunteered for this because she was tired of watching everyone walk on egg shells around Cat.

“But-“

“Let Chucker take care of this one Destructa” Home Slice knew when to take a step back and with Cat they needed to evacuate the building.

“But…” Destructa watched Mother Chucker turn the corner ending the discussion.

“Come on X the sooner we finish up the sooner we can get something to eat” Crimson threw an arm around her shoulder giving her a light squeeze.

“If you say so Crim” Destructa bit her lip hoping the fall out would be too bad, she was great at blowing things up but putting them back together again wasn’t her forte.

…  
…  
...

Catastrophe stormed through the hallways of the facility with no destination in mind she just needed to get away. She thought by walking away from the people causing her problems it would help her cool down but she couldn’t stop thinking about her friends, Arsyn, the way it was all starting to get to her. They were all trying to help her and it was nice but everyone had their breaking point and she seemed to hit hers.

The Pitying looks from seasoned girls, the fear that rolled off the rookies in nauseating waves, and her friends-god they were the worst- they treated her like a wounded animal, like some angry child after a tantrum and it infuriated her.   
She thought they would realize that she didn’t need them by now. She didn’t need their comforting hugs or sympathy she needed to get out before she blew up. She needed to get out, find Arsyn and get some damn answers and she needed to now!

“Cat”

Taking a deep breath through her nose she kept walking she wouldn’t let Chucker bother her like the others.

“You can’t keep walking away, this place might be huge but your gonna come to a dead end “

“Do I look like I care?” She could sense the smaller blonde walking in step with her now but didn’t bother looking away from the wall at the end of the hallway. She was just done with all this.

“I wouldn’t particularly say you did but you’ve always been temperamental”

“Those are some big words you’re using” 

“That’s a lot of bitch your channeling but I would save that for the enemy not your friends”

Cat rolled her eyes and picked up the pace using her long strides to put some much needed distance between her and Chucker.

Huffing Chucker sped up “just because you’re taller than me doesn’t mean you’re getting away”

Cat didn’t even bother replying to that her annoyance only grew as Chucker walked faster almost ready to start jogging.

“Seriously you’re giving me the silent treatment?”

Clenching her jaw Cat pressed on pulling a hard right throwing Chucker off for a second before she caught up again.

“Come on Cat you’re not making this any easier”

“Then leave me alone”

“Yeah that ain’t happening”

“Leave Chucker” Cat couldn’t hide her mounting frustration, her voice came out as a harsh growl, she was losing it.

“Not happening pussy cat”

Cat clenched her hands so hard she could feel her nails digging into her palms they were probably bleeding by now.

“You got something on your mind pussy cat? Maybe you want to tell the rest of the class?” Chucker knew it was insane to piss of Catastrophe of all people but the girl wouldn’t do anything if she didn’t. Chucker saw this kind of rage before for hundreds of reasons because each member of the Fates is different but Cat was holding on to that rage and so far it wasn’t doing her jack.

“Come on Kitty you need to do something other than snarl at me if you want something”

Cat growled pushing her legs to go faster till she was in a flat out run. Mother Chucker wasn’t letting her get away that easily. Kicking it into high gear Chucker raced after her, slowly catching up to the leggy blonde.

“You’re not running any more Cat” 

“Leave Chucker!” she hated how weak her body was. She could feel her legs aching from weeks of disuse and her injuries were starting to make a reappearance.

“Running isn’t going to make me go away”

“Leave before I make you!” 

“Stop playing stone cold bitch Cat!”

“Stop playing my friend!” she spun so fast Chucker didn’t stand a chance Cat shoved her away trying to get some space between them not realizing her own strength. The small blonde went flying against the back wall Chucker gasped as her back it the wall cracking it. Falling to the floor in a gasping heap the small blonde wheezed clutching her aching chest.

Catastrophe panted heavily her anger was getting the better of her and she was hurting her friend this wasn’t what she wanted. All her hatred all her anger should be directed at Arsyn but she wasn’t there, she couldn’t get this energy and frustration out, she was trapped between cold indifference and this, this animalistic rage. She wanted answers she would probably never get, she wanted to get out of there and tear the world apart till she found Arsyn, and she wanted to breathe without this hate fueled fire burning her in her chest searing her heart with every breath she took.

“F-feel be-tter?”

Clenching her fist she glared down at Chucker trying in vain to keep herself from giving into the inferno of rage.

“If that…if that was a ah ‘shove’ I can’t ..wait to…see what a punch …looks like” Chucker smirked despite her current position. 

Chucker was used to this kind of thing, Destructa and Crimson went on rampages heck, she had her own every now and then but someone like Catastrophe, a disciplined, controlled, poster child of the Fates losing her temper? It was unheard of and that crazy part of Chucker wanted to see what happened. The Mother Chucker of the Fates wasn’t part of the screw loose trio for nothing, she lived in danger every second of her life and lacked a few pieces that made “Normal” people run in terror at the sight of a gun or “bad guy”. She had been a world class mercenary, specializing in espionage and infiltration this made her a great asset, if they hadn’t picked up as early as they had she would have been an even greater threat.

Cat didn’t say anything, she was too close to the edge for human speech. Her hands were clenched so hard she could feel her nails at least half an inch deep, her jaw ached from grinding her teeth and her chest, god her chest ached from the rage she was trying to contain.

Chucker gave a wheezy laugh before forcing herself to her feet, leaning back on the wall for support.

“You’re not gonna hold that in any more Cat, you’ll self-combust if you do”

“Shut up” Cat hissed she didn’t want to kill Chucker but at this point her vison was starting to focus only on her.

“Come on Kitty Kat what you gonna do? Scat at me?” 

CRASH!!

Cement dust exploded from the right of her and Chucker closed her eyes. It would suck to get cement dust in her eyes again. 

The Labored breathing of Catastrophe filled her ears but she didn’t move it would get her killed for sure if she moved a fraction of an inch with Cat so tense. The wall crumbled as she ripped her fist out of it only to ram it back in covering them in more dust and rubble. Raising her other hand she punched through the wall on Chucker’s left filling what little space between them with dust. 

Cat laid into the damn wall, tearing through her padded fingerless gloves. The Kevlar that covered her hands fell away, till her bare knuckles were exposed to the sharp, cracked concrete wall she was abusing. Roaring she pushed herself harder throwing her whole body into each punch ignoring the sting of every cut and scrap, the burn of her muscles and chest as it fueled her rage. The worst part was watching Chucker stand in the middle of this chaos looking so calm, almost serene. 

How could she be so calm? She was missing a few pieces like Crimson and Destructa but she was in the middle of a hell storm for Christ’s sake!

Slamming her fists into the craters she screamed in Chuckers face till her throat burned and her lungs couldn’t hold out anymore. Her heart pounded in her ears it was so loud she couldn’t even hear herself as her chest heaved sucking wind so hard her lungs burned.

For the first time throughout this entire release Chucker opened her eyes calm grey met hard blue. It was a hard life being an agent, you had to give up a lot of things unless you wanted out by a certain date but the sacrifice was there. Most of the girls gave up their past lives or identities once they got in, girls like Chucker, Crimson, and Destructa gave up those last few chains of normalcy to be what they truly were but Cat, she had given up herself to the cause and dove in head first. A great sacrifice it might be to give up one’s self for a cause but it lost its affect if you harmed yourself in the process and nothing was worse than locking everything away.

“Slow Deep breaths Kitty Kat” Chucker cupped Cat’s dirty face in her hands whipping away thick tears. 

Cat flinched at the contact before her eyes started to come into focus. It would have been terrifying if she was a baddy, to have those icy daggers lock on to you? It’s like a sniper ready to pull the trigger.

“Why don’t you pull your hands out of the wall so we can see what we’re working with?” Chucker ignored Cat’s glare and wrapped her arms around Cats wrists and gently pulled them out of the craters behind her. The wall shifted a bit as more chunks of cement and dust fell around them. Looking down chucker whistled.

“You really did a number on yourself Cat” 

The once pristine black suit was now covered in white grey cement dust and her sleeves were torn from scraping against the wall but her hands, god her hands. Finally free of the exo-suit and she munched up her hands, her hands were broken and bleeding the knuckles skinned and bleeding as her fingers trembled. It wasn’t looking too good.

“Yeah the Trinity’s gonna have a field day”

Cat snorted. She was exhausted and her hands her after she annihilated that stupid wall instead of Chucker’s face. 

“Come on She-Hulk let’s get your ass to the medic unit”

Chucker pulled on her arm only to stumble when Cat didn’t move. Looking over her shoulder she found Cat was still in the same place but she was different now, her shoulders were slumped from exertion and her eyes were no longer so cold if anything they looked sad and that didn’t fit her.

“Uh Kitty Kat?”

“I’m not playing the bitch chucker”

“I know”

“But I don’t want to be treated like one either”

“Uh what?”

“I don’t want baby sitters or leashes, I need to do something and they won’t let me”

Mother Chucker looked at her friend, really looked at her and she could see it, the difference. Catastrophe still had that cold exterior but she had a fire in her that was growing out of control. Her little outburst just now was a small burst of steam compared to the volcano underneath and it would only get worse as time dragged on unless they got Arsyn. The problem was Arsyn was declared off limits till Cat was back in the field and they had a lock on her.

The bitch was more secretive then they thought because she had stolen a great deal of tech from them, cloaking devises included. 

“You’ll do what you can after your hands are better” 

Cat nodded letting Chucker take her arm she was done for the day, she didn’t care what happened now or in a few hours she would be back in her courters with Dibbles.

“Don’t worry Cat you’ll be bashing skulls and kicking ass in no time”

..  
..  
..

Headmistress watched the pair walk away and she felt her body relax. She had seen Catastrophe leave the others and was more than willing to shadow her but once Chucker laid into her she pulled back waiting to see if she needed to interfere.   
She knew Mother Chucker just as long as the others. The girl was deadly and fearless a dangerous combination that had she not found her so early would have ended badly for everyone involved. Chucker was a level four priority with most of the other “insane” agents. There was a whole other set of levels for those agents and they went up to seven so while Chucker was a priority four, Crimson curse jumped between a five and a seven periodically Luckily for them Destructa was a solid five for her pyrotechnics and nasty temper but they were getting better a curbing it.

Back to Catastrophe, she was amazed by the raw power she held as she demolished the wall. These walls had three layers of cement and steel foundations so Chucker’s She-Hulk comment was appropriate. 

Headmistress had watched over their fallen Athena since she was put in the exo-suit and she knew it was only a matter of time before somebody got hurt. It seemed that Chucker was the perfect one to help Catastrophe let off some of that rage. It was hard for Cat to not direct that rage at her friends even if they were following orders it was too much, they closed in on her and although never out right said it they were still worried about her. They were her friends but few understood that kind of rage and pain that’s why the first one to help with her reboot training was going to be Home Slice. The blonde was well versed in the revenge and could help with containing her rage or at least cycling it so it built up and was used as a power reserve instead of a detonator.

Turning away Headmistress started making plans, they had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. Arsyn was getting bolder by the day and she didn’t like that but till Catastrophe was up to par the former agent would be watched from a distance but they wouldn’t engage.

The bitch was Catastrophe’s to deal with till then they would hold their own.


End file.
